When it comes to personal style, an oft-overlooked aspect is your fragrance. But fragrance is part of the impression you make — it influences how people perceive and remember you. Our sense of smell is much more sensitive than our sense of vision, and smell triggers memories better than any of the other senses.

Picking out a signature cologne can help set you apart from the pack. It could be one of Grandpa’s drugstore colognes, one of the colognes favored by history’s famous men, or something that’s unique to you (I’m a fan of Sportsman, myself). Whatever fragrance you select, you want to make sure you apply it right in order to optimize the results. The above guidelines will help ensure you don’t overpower people with your cologne, while allowing folks to smell the full range of scents in your fragrance. 

For more insights on colognes for men, check out our in-depth article on the subject. 

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

“Looks like I gotta go commando.”

We all know what that phrase means. 

It means you’re going to wear pants without underwear. 

But why do we call the act of not wearing underwear beneath pants “going commando”?

Did commandos actually go commando?

AoM investigates.

Where Did the Phrase “Going Commando” Originate?

Doing some sleuthing into the deep corners of the internet on sites produced by passionate amateur etymologists, I discovered a lot of debate about the origins of “going commando.”

The first theory is that the phrase started appearing on college campuses in the 1970s as young American soldiers returned to civilian life from Vietnam. According to this theory, the phrase can be traced to the fact that soldiers deployed to Vietnam faced hot and humid conditions. This was particularly true of special operators, or commandos, who had to crawl through water and hide in the jungle brush. Tight-fitting underwear would cause chafing and irritation and eventually develop into a fungal infection called “crotch rot.” One of the remedies for crotch rot (besides talcum powder) was ventilation. So off went the underwear. Commandos, and then rank-and-file soldiers too, started calling not wearing underwear under their uniform “going commando.” When they came home, they brought the phrase to their communities and colleges, and it spread. 

That’s one theory on the origin of “going commando” and the most popular one.

Another theory is that the term originated among Royal Marine Commandos deployed in the Falklands War of 1982. These special operators were tasked with making an amphibious assault on the Falklands Islands, and in the course of their mission, they ate some bad food and contracted some terrible diarrhea. To save a little time with the constant pants-dropping required to take care of their, er, business, the commandos stopped wearing underwear. One less layer to worry about. They started calling not wearing underwear “going commando.” The phrase made it back to the UK, crossed the Atlantic to the States, and found its way into common usage.

Another theory is that the phrase arose amongst the American and British commandos of WWII who had to navigate both water and land. Not wearing underwear would reduce the chafing and irritation that can occur when close-fitting underclothing gets wet. 

So we have three different theories on the origin of going commando. All of them conclude that commandos did indeed go commando and skip the wearing of underwear.

I’ve read many books about military history over the years, and some of those texts mentioned the phenomenon of soldiers forgoing underwear to avoid chafing and irritation. You see these references in books about the Pacific Theater in WWII and about Vietnam – history’s hot and humid battlegrounds. 

In the war documentary Restrepo, you’ll find firefight scenes with soldiers wearing only a pair of PT shorts and some body armor. They were probably going commando. Since they were fighting in dry, sometimes cold Afghanistan, the soldiers going commando in Restrepo weren’t likely trying to avoid crotch rot. Going commando was probably more of a matter of convenience. 

While both the American and British militaries require enlistees to wear underwear as part of their uniform, the standards are loosened on the battlefront, where the exigencies of combat trump the stringency of dress rules. A soldier training at boot camp would likely get docked for going commando at inspection; a soldier going commando in the middle of an unexpected firefight in Afghanistan would probably get commended for his promptness and responsiveness to the attack. That famously happened to a soldier in 2009 who engaged in a firefight in his pink boxers. He didn’t get demoted; he earned praise from his superiors.

So it appears commandos did and do go commando. As did and do more rank-and-file soldiers. Civilians go commando as well, because some dudes just like how it feels not to wear skivvies sometimes. 

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

I’ve owned my share of expensive sunglasses over the years. 

I had a pair of Garrett Leights that I purchased back in 2013. I loved them. I felt like JFK checking out Saturn moon rockets every time I wore them. 

Because my Garrett Leight shades were so pricey, I took extra good care of them. I had a temple piece fall off its hinge a few times, but I was always able to get it repaired. By treating them with kid gloves’ caution, they lasted four years. But then one day, my four-year-old got a hold of them. They ended up on the ground and stomped on because happy-go-lucky tykes have no concept of $300 eyewear. My Garrett Leights snapped right at the nose piece. Not salvageable, so out with the trash they went.  

My next pair of sunglasses were less expensive than the Garrett Leights, but still pricey. I bought a pair of Ray-Ban Clubmasters at Tulsa International Airport before catching a flight for a family vacation to Vermont. They set me back $160, but I felt super dope in them. Again, like JFK. This time on a yacht off Nantucket.

They didn’t make it home with me. Lost somewhere in the Green Mountains. I hope some hearty Vermonter found them and is wearing them to the local co-op to buy oats in bulk. 

It occurred to me at this point in time that maybe sunglasses were too “disposable” to be worth investing much money in. Being small in size, inherently fairly fragile in construction, and worn precariously perched on one’s snoz, no matter how well you take care of them, they’re going to get left at a restaurant, dropped off a boat, or smashed by someone’s behind before you get a chance to pass them down to your grandkids. Given that expensive designer sunglasses and bargain sunglasses typically have the same functionality — offering the same UV protection — it just seemed like life was too short for shades you have to treat delicately and worry about having to periodically replace. 

So I decided that moving forward I would just start wearing cheap sunglasses. Really embracing that philosophy fully, I bought my next pair at a gas station. They cost me $20. But, while they kept the sun out of my eyes, they made me look like the kind of middle-aged dad who lists “The School of Life” in the education section of his Facebook profile. Which is to say, I didn’t look cool. And life is also too short not to feel cool.

I needed a pair of sunglasses that were functional, affordable, and cool. 

Thankfully, around this time our good pals at Huckberry launched their own pair of in-house shades. They call them the Weekenders. I call them the perfect pair of sunglasses.

Note: While we are affiliates of Huckberry, this endorsement was neither paid for nor solicited. I am a genuine wearer and appreciator of HB’s Weekenders.

Why Huckberry’s Weekenders Are the Perfect Pair of Sunglasses

They block the sun. Polarized, scratch-resistant lenses that cover your whole eye mean you get maximum glare and sun blockage — especially handy for when you’re driving west at sunset. 

They feel great. Weekenders are super lightweight and fit snugly but not too tightly on your face. I don’t even notice when I’m wearing them. 

They can take a beating. The materials and design are made to take a beating. You don’t have to baby your Weekenders. I’ve had pairs sat on in the car, stepped on by children, and smooshed inside of a backpack during a hike and they still came out unscathed. 

They look cool. The Weekenders are based on the classic Wayfarer design, but updated to look a bit sportier. I feel like JFK . . . well, I’ve run out of sunglasses-wearing JFK analogies. I just feel cool wearing them and I’ve gotten a lot of compliments from people (even random strangers, not just Kate and my mom) about how my Weekenders look on me. So there. Case closed. I’m cool. 

They’re inexpensive. A pair of Weekenders will set you back $35. While I do my best to take care of them (I’m not a careless spendthrift), I don’t fret over potentially losing or breaking a pair. I never would have worn my $300+ Garrett Leights to go tubing down the White River in Vermont, but have no problem wearing my Weekenders to do the same. There’s a big difference between dropping $300 and $35 in the water.

If you’re looking for a pair of adventure-ready sunglasses that can take a beating, look great, and won’t break the bank, pick up a pair (or two) of Weekenders from Huckberry. Slide ‘em behind your ears with suave smoothness, put on a pair of City Slippers and a fresh tee, and you’re all set for summer. 

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

When it comes to wedding rings, much of the focus inevitably ends up on the fiancee’s engagement ring. Come wedding time, the bands for both bride and groom end up as more of an afterthought. A couple decades ago, there simply wasn’t much variety in men’s rings. The options basically came down to a simple band of gold or silver with, perhaps, a decorative flourish or gem. That was about it. 

Recent years have seen an explosion of options for men hit the marketplace, which means you have more to think about — in a good way! The looks and materials available for men’s rings have never been more stylish, frankly. With that, of course, comes plenty of chintzy options made with bizarro materials and/or very niche/unique designs. To help guide you grooms-to-be through the options and selection process, below we go over everything you need to know to pick the perfect men’s wedding band.

Big thanks to the guys at Manly Bands for providing some info and pictures. This is NOT a sponsored article; I simply relied on their expertise in figuring out the types of things a man should consider when choosing a ring. 

To Match or Not to Match?

The first question you’ll need to consider in choosing a wedding band is whether you and your soon-to-be spouse want to have matching rings or not. Traditionally, the bands of man and wife did match, as they were a symbol of their unity and partnership. But that tradition has very much loosened up today, and the choice of whether to have matching or distinct bands is entirely up to you. Matching bands continue to offer a potent symbol of oneness, but getting distinct bands allows each partner to choose something that speaks to their own personal style. 

If you like the idea of coordinated rings, but don’t want to choose identical bands, consider getting rings that are different and yet complementary — being made of the same material or with the same gem, used in different ways. Or engrave the same saying on the inside of each band. 

Your Personal Style

When it comes to your wedding ring, what’s most important is simply your personal style. There are no options that are necessarily better or worse; you just have to browse and decide what sort of thing you genuinely like. 

Beware of going with a design or material that seems really cool at first blush, but may end up feeling gimmicky in a decade or two. Sure, you may love baseball, but do you really want a ring that has red baseball stitches engraved on it, for the rest of your life? You need to think about your future self too. 

That said, men’s rings are a little different from women’s engagement rings and you can certainly trade out later if your personal style changes (as mine has in my 10 years of being married). More on that below in the “Budget” section. 

Though some guys may shrug off the ring choice — “Oh, I don’t care, just get me whatever” — I encourage you to put some thought and time into it. Get something that you’ll be truly happy to wear for the rest of your life. 

Material

When it comes to wedding rings for men, there’s quite a lot of variety in material and color options. Beyond just your classic precious metals (gold, silver, platinum) there are also modern metals like tungsten and titanium, as well as more unique materials like wood, meteorite, and even antler/dinosaur bone. Rings made with silicone are also growing in popularity. Let’s look at each of these materials, first considering whether you want a diamond or gem of some sort. 

Diamonds/Gems 

In this option, the diamond is surrounded by rose gold, with a meteorite inlay.

One of the first questions to consider when it comes to materials is if you’ll want a diamond or gem of some sort incorporated into the ring. In a woman’s diamond engagement ring, the gem is often set above the ring itself; the point is for the diamond to be the star of the show. In men’s rings, diamonds are set within the ring itself as more of a complement to the overall look rather than the focal point. Diamonds (and other gems) obviously boost the price quite a bit, but it can be a really sharp and classy look if you have the budget for it. That said, diamonds can feel a little too flashy for most grooms, and are certainly still in the minority when it comes to men’s wedding rings. 

Precious Metals

A traditional gold men’s wedding band.

Gold (yellow, white, rose). The most traditional option and almost certainly what your dad and granddad have/had. Can be resized more easily than other materials since it’s a “soft” metal; that also means it scratches somewhat easily, however. Price generally remains pretty high unless it’s utilizing gold plating or is a lower carat.

Silver. The other classic option for wedding ring material, though it’s not as common anymore. As with gold, it’s a softer material that will wear and show its age after a decade or two. It’s cheaper than other precious metals. Most of the silver-colored rings you’ll find on the market today are actually made of white gold or a hard metal (see below). 

Platinum. Platinum is the most expensive of the classic metals, but is super durable — a platinum ring will likely last and look the same your whole life. Platinum also has a nice natural shine. 

Modern Metals

These materials are getting the “modern” moniker not because the materials are actually modern, but because their use in wedding rings is. These all have similar looks and are often paired with inlays of other materials like carbon fiber, turquoise, a precious metal, etc. 

A titanium ring with a turquoise inlay. 

Titanium. The hardest natural metal available, which also means it’s hard to resize. It’s mostly scratch-resistant (though not entirely) and quite lightweight. More affordable than the above precious metals.  

Tungsten. The hardest, most durable material for rings. This man-made metal is silver in color (though it can be mixed with other materials to make other colors) and pretty much unbreakable. That also makes it nearly impossible to resize. It’s denser than the other metals here, making it just a touch heavier — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the ring will just feel more noticeable on your finger. 

A few other metals you’ll find include cobalt, steel, and tantalum. When considering these metals, it’s really just a matter of your style and your budget — all of them are durable and, on their own (that is, without inlays or gems), pretty affordable.   

Unique Materials

There is a growing range of more unique materials that don’t fall into the metals category:

Ceramic. Though it’s basically clay, it’s super-hardened and nearly as durable as the hard metals described above. Ceramic retains its initial luster longer than other materials and is quite affordable. It also has a more unique look and comes in more color options. Again, though, it’s difficult to resize and can shatter with an especially hard impact. 

A ring with a wooden inlay flanked by sturdy ceramic on the sides.

Wood. It might seem strange to go with a wooden wedding ring. Won’t it break down? Be more susceptible to the elements (including sweat)? Well, in fact, most wooden rings aren’t typically made entirely of wood (though 100% wood rings do exist); instead, just the inlay is made of wood, and this inlay is then protected by more durable materials, like the metals listed above, on the outside or interior of the ring. A ring with a wooden inlay offers unique variations with colors and patterns, and ages with more of a noticeable patina than metal. It may also chip/scratch a little easier, especially if it’s an all-wood ring. That said, a wood ring is still very durable, just less so than one made entirely of hard metal.  

Meteorite/Antler/Bone. When you find a material that seems a little gimmicky, it will almost always be reinforced by metal (as with the wood). In my opinion these materials tend to just drive the price up (though not always) and they don’t necessarily offer a totally unique look (you might know you’re wearing a dinosaur bone on your finger, but no one else is likely to realize that). But, if you’re super into space and you want a meteorite on your finger, you can sure as shoot do that. 

Silicone rings, like this one, come in a wide variety of colors, patterns, and textures.

Silicone. This rubber-like material is quickly becoming a more popular choice for wedding rings, particularly as a “back-up” ring for when you’re adventuring, working with machinery, lifting weights, on vacation, or in any scenario where a more expensive, traditional ring could get lost, damaged, or be a target for theft. But some gents do choose a silicone ring to be their primary wedding band. It may not feel as nice or meaningful, but some guys like that it represents their more laid-back, unostentatious approach to life.

Silicone rings are incredibly affordable (as in, under $50!), replaceable, comfortable, and becoming more and more stylish with each passing year as the market grows. Basic options abound, but there are some companies, like Enso, which fuse silicone with a little bit of metal to make a better looking and more unique ring (while still coming in at under $50). 

Ring Width 

The same ring at 4 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm wide.

The width of your wedding ring is likely to make a bigger difference in its overall look and feel than you’d think. Most rings will be between 4 mm and 8 mm wide, though outliers on either end do exist. Many men gravitate towards the upper end of that range; 4 mm and below tends to look a little dainty (though not always), whereas an 8 mm ring just looks more bold and durable. 

When thinking about how wide to get your ring, the first thing to take into account is your own hand and finger size. If you have small-ish hands, an 8 mm band might be too big and stick out a little too much. I have small-to-average hands and wore an 8 mm ring for a long time before trying on a 6 mm ring — the latter looks a lot better and more proportional on my finger. On the flip side, a small 4 mm ring looks rather out of place on a man with meaty hands and fingers. 

The other main factor when it comes to ring width, as with all these other categories, is your personal style. A wider ring is a bolder choice and inherently a little more noticeable. A thinner ring is more understated and naturally blends in a bit better rather than standing out.  

Fit/Size

There are two options for how the ring fits on your finger — standard and comfort. Standard, as you can imagine, is how every ring used to fit and simply means that the inside of the ring, the part that comes in contact with your finger, is totally flat. Standard fit is a little harder to get on and off over the knuckle and may slide around on the finger a little more. 

The vast majority of rings these days are comfort fit. This means that the inside of the ring is slightly domed, which makes it more comfortable, easier to get on and off, and ensures the ring stays put a little better.  

Sizing up your finger for a ring is pretty easy these days. Most companies, especially here in the age of COVID, offer to send you a free or very cheap ring sizing guide, which is basically just a keychain of different ring sizes for you to try on. There are also apps that’ll do the trick. 

Budget

While the average engagement + wedding ring combo for a woman is well over $6,000 (yowza!), the average wedding ring for guys comes in at about $500. But, you can find options well above and well below that number. If you have the money and desire, you can easily spend $2,000-$3,000 — and higher — with a combination of unique materials, inlays, and/or gems. On the flip side, there are a lot of really nice, durable, stylish rings that will come in at around $200 or even less. 

The big question, really, is how to determine a ring budget in the first place. Those rules about monthly salaries have always been bunkum — in fact, the 2-3 month’s salary rule was created by De Beers because they wanted guys to spend more money on engagement rings. Unfortunately, there’s no real formula. You have to look at your current financial situation, determine what you (and your fiancee) are comfortable with, and go from there. While a diamond engagement ring may be forever, in the world of men’s rings, it’s pretty darn easy to trade up after a handful of years (or a decade or two) if your first ring was budget-friendly (though you may become sentimentally attached to the rings you exchanged at the altar).

You’re now equipped to make an informed choice on the ring that, hopefully, you’ll be wearing ‘til death do you part — and not even then, since you’re likely to be buried with it!  

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

I’m always looking for ways to really get to know famous men from history. It’s why biographies are one of my favorite genres of books and why some of my favorite trips are visiting the homes of famous men long dead. I like to uncover the small details of their lives. 

What did they carry in their pockets? 

What books were in their library?

What sorts of items did they keep by their bedside?

What was their daily routine like? 

Such small details, stitched together, can really give you an idea of who the person was. 

There’s one biographical peculiarity about a dead person that can particularly bring them to life for you: what they smelled like (you know, when they were still alive). 

Smell is one of our most potent senses and is strongly connected to our memory. The cologne or fragrance a man chooses to wear, consequently, becomes part of his immortal identity. If you want to know what it was like to stand next to Winston Churchill, just take a whiff of the cologne he wore. 

Below we highlight eight famous men and their signature fragrances. Knowing what cologne they wore will give you an idea of what it was like to be in their presence. It also might give you some ideas for fragrances to add to your own collection; nearly all of those we list below are still made and available today.

George Washington: Caswell-Massey Number Six

Founded in 1752, Caswell-Massey was the first personal grooming and fragrance company started in the United States. George Washington was known to wear their fragrance Number 6. He liked it so much that he gave it as a gift to friends. Number 6 opens with the scent of citrus, neroli, rosemary, and amber. As it fades, you’ll start smelling rose, musk, and myrrh.

George III: Creed Royal English Leather

Whilst King George was trying to manage unruly American colonists, he was likely wearing Creed Royal English Leather. At least according to the perfumer who still makes the stuff. Creed is a perfume house that started in England in 1760. According to the in-house legend (also known as marketing), Royal English Leather was the first scent that founder James Creed created, and he made it just for King George. The cologne was designed to be applied to the king’s gloves so that whenever His Majesty rested his chin in his gloved hand, the rich scent of the fragrance wafted into his nostrils (and disguised the scent of the not-so-hygienic courtiers and plebes he was surrounded with).

The base note has leather, of course, along with sandalwood. The top notes consist of orange and lime.

Napoleon Bonaparte: Jean Marie Farina Eau de Cologne

What does conquest and empire-building smell like? It evinces top notes of citrus and rosemary before fading to cedar, vetiver, and musk. Or at least that’s the fragrance that French commander and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte wore during his campaigns and political maneuvers. Known as Jean Marie Farina Eau de Cologne, it’s a nice fragrance to sport in warmer weather due to its fresh scent.

General George Custer

Besides being a commanding Army officer during the American Indian Wars, General George Custer was also a dandy. He wore a fancy uniform, a bright scarf around his neck, and his curly, golden hair below his shoulders, which made him stand out from other military officers. His foppish hair became such a trademark that the Lakota took to calling him Pahuska, or long hair.

To keep his golden locks shiny and smelling nice, Custer would comb cinnamon oil through his hair — which, though not a cologne per se, certainly became his signature scent.

Winston Churchill: Creed Tabarome

The British Bulldog smelled of cigars and brandy, but he also smelled of Creed Tabarome, his go-to cologne. The scent starts off citrusy with bergamot and tangerine, fades to ginger, and then to a subtle sandalwood, ambergris, tobacco, and leather scent. 

A great fragrance to wear while leading your country through its darkest hour. 

Ernest Hemingway: America One 31 by Krigler

Papa Hemingway favored the masculine, musky yet floral fragrance of America One 31 by Krigler. The cologne got its name because it consists of 31 different scents mixed together. It starts off citrusy and floral and then fades to a manly musk. It’s a very classic masculine fragrance. 

Errol Flynn: Cuir de Russie by Creed

Want to be debonair like the swashbuckling Errol Flynn? First, grow a pencil mustache. Second, splash on some Cuir de Russie by Creed. It starts out lemony and then fades to sandalwood and leather. Unfortunately, this is the one cologne on the list that’s no longer available (at least you still got that pencil mustache), but the smell of Cuir de Russie was said to be reminiscent of standing in the boot section of a western wear store. Giddyup!

John F. Kennedy: Jockey Club by Caswell-Massey

A sporty, dashing U.S. president should wear a sporty, dashing cologne. JFK was such, and wore such — specifically, the sporty, dashing Jockey Club cologne. Made by the favorite American fragrance company of U.S. presidents, Caswell-Massey, Jockey Club is a bracing, masculine fragrance. It starts off citrusy and has sandalwood base notes. The perfect cologne to wear while you’re strolling around Cape Cod in your Wayfarers. 

If you need help choosing your own legendary signature scent, check out our guide here, and if you’re looking for a fragrance that may not be epoch-making, but is cheap and accessible, here are 6 great drugstore aftershaves and colognes.

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

Imagine a man in a tuxedo at a black tie event.

He has poise, style, and a posture that grabs everyone’s attention.

He casually lifts his hand to check the time . . . on a Casio calculator wristwatch with a rubber strap.

Cue the record scratch.

This is the power of a wristwatch, gentlemen. Like your belt, it’s a small accessory that can either break or build your get-up.

Since men wear limited jewelry, a watch is a singular expression of their personality. Most men prefer to own more than one so they can wear the appropriate timepiece to complement their outfit and the formality of a particular occasion.

How do you best make this pairing between your watches and your clothes?

Below you’ll find 6 guidelines for making your watch an elevating, complementary addition to your wardrobe rather than an off-note distraction.

#1. Match the Formality of Your Watch With the Formality of Your Outfit

The overarching principle for pairing your watch with your clothes is to have the formality of the former match the formality of the latter.

To understand how to do this, you first need to understand the different types of watches that exist.

Watch Types

The two broadest categories of watches are analog watches and digital watches.

Digital watches have a LCD display or LED face that shows time in numeric form. The straps are typically rubber/plastic. This is your sport/fitness tracker type of watch which pairs with athletic wear. You don’t really need to worry about matching this kind of watch with your clothes, beyond never wearing them with anything dressier than your most causal duds!

Instead, we’ll be concentrating here on analog watches. These have a face with hour and minute hands and either markers or numbers that display a 12-hour cycle. These watches are considered more classic and formal, making them suitable for business and formal events, as well as casual everyday wear.

Within the analog category, there are 5 main types of men’s watches:

• Dress – Sleek, simple, and sophisticated, the dress watch with a plain white face, no complications (the features/extra functions on a watch), and a thin black leather strap is as formal as it gets. A face with hash marks, Roman numerals, or no numerals at all adds another touch of elegance.   
• Dive – Originally designed for underwater diving, these watches feature deep water resistance, metal bands, and a medium-sized face with bold, easy-to-read Arabic numerals or hash marks. Typically includes a date-only complication or none at all.
• Racing/Driving – Medium to large in size, with a large dial sporting clear Arabic numerals, and often bright, contrasting colors. Always includes a chronograph, and sometimes a date complication as well. The case is stainless steel; the strap is metal or leather.
• Pilot – Made for the cockpit, the pilot watch is medium to large in size, with an oversized dial, clean, legible numbers, luminous hands, and a date and sometimes a chronograph for the complications. The strap is typically leather.
• Field – Born from the trenches of WWI, field watches are rugged, functional, versatile timepieces that are tough enough for active duty. Small to medium in size, with a leather or canvas strap, and a face with easy-to-read Arabic numbers. Includes a date-only complication or none at all.

For more detail on the different types of men’s watches and how to choose between them, click here.

Matching a Watch Type to a Level of Dress Code Formality

Once you know what the different watch types are, you can learn which goes with which kinds of dress codes, and their corresponding outfits:

• Black Tie/White Tie – Traditionally, you weren’t supposed to wear a watch to a black tie affair at all, and if you did wear a watch, you weren’t supposed to publicly check it. A formal event is a time out of time, and you should lose yourself in the occasion. That said, a simple, classic dress watch with a small, minimally embellished face and black leather band will be considered appropriate by most everyone these days.
• Business Dress – For business wear, go with a simple, classic style gold or silver watch with a thin dial and limited or no complications. A dark conservative suit is best paired with a classic dress watch. Some feel a suit should never be paired with a dive watch, but a less formal/conservative suit certainly can be, if you make it one with a leather strap.
• Sharp Casual – Here we’re talking button-down shirts, khakis, dark denim, sport coats (no tie), leather shoes, etc. The kind of things you’d wear to a more (but not totally) casual workplace or on a date. Once you’re in this territory, large watch faces and watches with more complications become appropriate, and while these kinds of duds can be paired with every kind of watch mentioned, they’re best complimented by the more casual pilot, racing, or field watch.
• Casual – With your most casual clothes — polo shirts, chambray button-downs, jeans, tees — all the watch types except the dress watch will work. If you’re going to be engaging in physical activity, you’ll want something that can take a beating, like the field watch. 

A note on smartwatches: I’m not a fan. Wearing a smartwatch is essentially like wearing a phone on your wrist, and isn’t more distraction, so close at hand (literally right above one’s hand), the very last thing any of us need? Nobody needs to be that connected. Studies say that even the presence of a smartphone on a table inhibits conversation because people don’t want to go very deep if they may be interrupted; one would think a smartwatch would have even more of this stultifying effect. Add to this the fact that smartwatches, even when made in a classy, dress-watch-esque style, never look quite as elegant as the real thing. I would thus suggest never wearing one for social occasions, and if you feel you must wear one for business, keep it to situations in which a sharp casual or lower dress code prevails, and never check it while talking to another human being. For more formal business dress, a more formal watch will look better (and keep you focused).

#2. Match the Formality of the Watch Strap to the Formality of Your Outfit

Once you know the general type of watch that will pair best with the formality of your clothes, you can narrow down things further in terms of the material of the watch strap.

There are two guidelines here:

• Leather watch bands (at least ones that are sleek) are considered more formal than metal bands
• Black leather is more formal than brown leather

While gold or silver metal bands aren’t appropriate for the most formal of events, they can be appropriate for dressy occasions when they complement the rest of your outfit.

Rough, rugged, worn-in leather straps (such as what you’d see on a field watch) are an exception to the leather-is-formal rule, and should be paired with casualwear, like jeans, rather than a suit.

#3. Leather Complements Leather

When wearing a watch with a leather strap, the material and color of your shoes is a suitable reference for the choice of watchband. 

You should start by matching your belt with your shoes. Then match your watch with both.

A black watchband should be worn with black shoes and belt; a brown band with brown belt and shoes. The watchband doesn’t have to be the exact same color as these accessories, but should be a similar tone (light vs medium vs dark). 

#4. Metal Complements Metal (And Your Clothes/Shoes)

The metals used to make the watch’s case (the frame around the face) and/or its band include steel, gold, silver, platinum, and titanium. The color of the watch’s metal should complement the metal accents of your other accessories — rings (wedding ring excepted), cuff links, shoe buckle, belt buckle, etc. — so that all your accessories are either gold or silver.

The colors don’t have to match exactly. For example, a rose gold watch can be worn with a yellow gold belt buckle — it’s close enough.

#5. Metal Bands Look Better With Certain Colors of Shoes/Clothes

When a watch has a metal strap, it can go fine with either brown or black shoes. But certain colors of metal do go better with certain colors of clothes/shoes.

Silver watches match best with clothes and shoes in black, gray, and blue shades. 

Gold watches go best with browns, beiges, tans, and other earth tones.

#6. Heirloom Watches Bend the Rules

Heirloom pieces represent a legacy. They are usually worn as a good luck charm or as a memory of the original owner. An heirloom watch is not worn based on the latest trends or fashions; it is a reminder of family history and culture. Heirlooms therefore allow you to bend and even violate the rules mentioned here. They serve as great conversation pieces and make you memorable. 

_______________________________________

Written By Antonio Centeno

Founder, Real Men Real Style

Click here to grab my free ebooks on men’s style

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

Belts are worn for both function and style. A seemingly small accessory, they can have a surprisingly large impact on the impression you make. They can be a piece that pulls an outfit together, or end up becoming a distraction that sabotages its overall effect.

Unfortunately, many men don’t know anything about belts, besides the fact that they go around their waist.

So today we’ll talk about when to wear one, the different types, when to choose one kind over another, and how to buy a quality belt that fits you right.

This is a man’s complete guide to belts.

What Is a Belt?

Let’s start by defining what we’re talking about.

A belt is a cinching system that goes around the waist using tension to hold up a person’s pants. Even a piece of string can be a belt!

A belt can be used for carrying things. Look at Batman and his utility belt, or a gentleman who decides to conceal carry.

However, most belts are purely decorative.

Simple. Now let’s start getting into more of the details of belts.

Anatomy of a Belt

The vast majority of belts (once you’ve moved beyond the simple string) have two parts: the buckle and the strap.

Many belts also have a keeper loop and/or an end tip (the end tip is usually metal, or leather on cloth belts). The end tip protects the end of the belt from being damaged/frayed and can make it easier to buckle. After the belt is buckled, the keeper loop stops the free end from flapping around.

In some belts, the strap and buckle are permanently joined together; in others, they can be taken apart and the buckle switched out. The part of the buckle that joins it to the strap is called the chape.

When Should You Wear a Belt?

In general, you should wear a belt with all pants (including jeans) that have belt loops. That’s what the loops are for! Leaving it off can look sloppy. Certainly with formal outfits, when your shirt is invariably tucked in, belts are essential. With more casual get-ups, when you’ll be wearing your shirt untucked, you can get away with skipping a belt, but you may still miss its functionality; remember that belts aren’t purely decorative — they help keep your pants up!

To maintain this function in the absence of a belt, you can choose suspenders as a stylish and fun alternative. Suspenders are a great way of dressing well for larger men — they’ll hold up your pants more effectively and reduce bulk at the waist. They also make a short guy look taller (or at least, they don’t make you look shorter by breaking the line of your body the way belts do.)

The one thing you don’t want to do is wear a belt and suspenders; it looks as if you either don’t know what you’re doing, or are just really, really worried about your pants falling down.

Formal vs. Casual Belts

Belts can roughly be sorted into two categories: formal and casual. Let’s dig into how these belts differ, and how to wear each type well.

Formal Belts

Formal belts don’t differ much from each other and share certain characteristics without many exceptions.

Buckle Type

Almost all formal belts include a frame-style style buckle, in which the strap goes through the frame. The prong of the buckle goes through holes in the strap to fasten the belt.

The buckle of a dress belt is usually shiny and sleek, gold or silver in color, and smaller and flatter than those found on casual belts.

Strap Width

A dress belt should be 1-1.5 inches wide, with thinner belts being more formal. A belt on the 1” end of things is suited for a smaller man, with a waist under 34”.

Strap Material

Leather is the only suitable material for dress belts (or a really good imitation leather if you’re vegetarian).

Cowhide. The most common leather used for belts, and comes in a few variations: full-grain leather is the best looking and most hardwearing, while calfskin is the softest and most supple. The highest quality formal belts will be full-grain calfskin.

Ostrich, lizard, crocodile, and alligator. These skins are all technically more casual belt materials, but can work as formal in a dark color.

Ostrich belts are a bold look, dotted with pockmarks from the feathers. They tend to fetch a high price.

Crocodile and alligator belts are even more upscale and have a subtler pattern and texture.

Faux leather is made with polyurethane on a fabric backing. It’s durable and low-maintenance, and the best faux leathers look realistic, although they don’t develop the same patina as real leather. Cheap fake leather looks, well, cheap and fake.

Strap Color/Pattern

A formal belt should be a subtle and understated addition to one’s outfit. Its surface should be solid and smooth, often with a sheen, and only have a subtle pattern at most. Black and brown are the most traditional colors for dress belts; some other colors you might see towards the smart-casual end of formal belts are oxblood, tan, navy, gray, and white for summer.

Matching a Formal Belt with Your Outfit

When you’re wearing a formal belt, be careful to match your leathers and match your metals: the strap of your belt should not only be the same color but also the same level of shininess as your shoes and other leather accessories, and the buckle should be the same color as your other metal jewelry and accessories (with the exception of your wedding ring, which can contrast with the other metals you wear).

Casual Belts

Casual belts come in many more types, styles, and colors than formal belts, and can be used to show more of your personality and individual style.

Buckle Types

Frame-Style

• Not only a buckle style for formal belts, the frame-style — usually with a bigger/thicker profile — can fasten casual belts as well

Plate-Style

• Usually detachable — paired with snap belts (straps without buckles)
• Plate is usually decorated — e.g., in cowboy and biker belts
• Hook goes through the front of the strap
• Throw (distance from chape to hook) adds to the length of your belt

Box-Frame

• Box is hollow, metal and open-ended
• Post presses the strap against the inside of the box
• No need for holes in the strap

O-Ring/D-Ring

• One or two rings form the buckle
• Belt is fastened by threading through them
• Casual, used with braided, webbing, and canvas belts

Snap

• “Male” and “female” ends snap together like a seat belt
• Very casual and functional, often used by those engaging in outdoor pursuits
• Not to be confused with snap belts

Micro-Adjust

• Uses a ratchet-style track system that requires a special type of strap
• A folding piece of metal presses the “teeth” of the track system into the strap
• No need for belt holes — allows minute adjustments

Strap Width

A casual belt will be 1.5-1.75 inches in width, with wider being more casual. A belt around 1.5” in width goes well with denim, chinos, and heavier fabrics. A belt wider than that is more unusual, suits jeans and casual trousers, and can be paired with classic and “statement” buckles.

Strap Materials

Leather

Full-grain leather. Broader, tougher, and stiffer than leather dress belts, leather casual work belts are usually made from the outer layers of a cow’s hide. Some even include marks from scars or brands that the cow acquired during its life.

Some leather belts are made with a snapped loop that can take different belt buckles, making it a customizable piece, and ideal for men who like to collect and show off different belt buckles. 

Braided leather. Used with a frame-style buckle to make very adjustable belts: you can put the prong in any hole in the braid. Braided belts are a good option when you want to keep things simple and unobtrusive; they add a little texture without making an overwhelming statement. They’re also easy to find, and often quite cheap.

More casual than a flat strip of leather, braided belts should not be worn with suits, but can work with a sports jacket.

Multicolored braided belts are even more casual, and are sometimes worn with summer ensembles for an east-coast prep look: khaki shorts, a light polo or button-fronted short-sleeved shirt, and boaters, with the bright belt holding down the center of the image.

Tooled leather. Decorated by “tooling,” a stamping process that leaves patterns on the leather, which are often then stained to make them stand out. Most are designed for interchangeable buckles.

Tooled belts work well with simple outfits, such as a pair of jeans and a basic button-down shirt. As they tend to be visually “busy” pieces on their own, the look starts to get overwhelming if you pair them with too many other patterned/textured items. 

Suede. Often used for casual belts, it’s less durable than full-grain leather, but usually has a full-grain leather backing for extra strength.

Other Materials

Leather-backed ribbon. A casual material that allows you to stand out with bright colors and bold motifs. These are usually paired with a frame buckle. Leatherback ribbon belts go perfectly with sailing, golf, and boat shoes.

Canvas. A staple of uniforms from the Army to the Boy Scouts, canvas belts with metal buckles are a plain, functional style. Most have a flat box buckle containing a sliding peg, which pins the strap in place at the desired position.

The most common styles of canvas belt are plain monochrome and monochrome with a single contrasting stripe running horizontally around the middle of the belt. Both have been in men’s casual wardrobes for the better part of a century.

Webbing. Another functional material, good for outdoor pursuits. It can be found in fun colors and patterns, and most often comes with a D-ring buckle.

Rope. Mostly a women’s fashion, but worn by men in nautical circles. Often fastened with a knot and loop rather than a buckle, they’re a bit preppy but durable and easy to clean, and can take a soaking better than leather.

Vinyl. Cheap, colorful, bold, and alternative. Vinyl belts are a young man’s style and can look tacky on older men. Really, outside maybe a concert, it can look tacky on a man of any age.

Strap Colors/Patterns

Brown is the most popular and versatile color for casual leather belts; black belts don’t pair well with jeans and khakis. With casual non-leather belts, colors can really run the gamut to every kind of pattern and hue.

Accent Piece or Centerpiece?

A big consideration to make when wearing a casual belt is whether you want it to be an accent piece or a centerpiece.

An accent piece is subtle, low-key, and complements the rest of your outfit. It’s usually in coordinating or neutral colors.

A centerpiece demands attention, and contrasts with the rest of your outfit.

While dress belts are pretty much always accent pieces, casual belts can be accent or centerpiece accessories.

There’s nothing wrong with either approach. You just want to dress appropriately for the effect you want.

A good accent belt should share some of the characteristics of the other pieces in your outfit. Similar or matching colors is an obvious choice, and how most men generally select their belts and shoes. A casual belt should still match your metals, but you’ve got more leeway on the leathers — brown with tan or tan with white is fine. Of course with casual outfits, you’re often not wearing leather at all — either in your shoes or in your belt. You don’t need to match the color of a casual belt of leather, or any other material, with the color of canvas/cloth sneakers. Just let the color of the belt work with your overall get-up; when in doubt, go with brown.

Centerpiece belts, on the other hand, are there to provide deliberate contrast, and provide a sharp, divergent punch of color or style compared with the rest of your get-up. They work best when the rest of the outfit isn’t too filled with colors and patterns. One or two bright elements are enough — more just looks too gaudy and busy.

Keep in mind that you don’t want to wear an eye-catching statement belt if you’re not confident about drawing attention to your waist!

Formal or Casual?

We can summarize the differences between formal and casual belts this way:

Formal:

• Smaller, sleeker buckle
• Thinner strap width
• Thinner, softer, sleeker, strap material, sometimes with a sheen
• Always leather

Casual:

• Larger buckle
• Broader strap width
• Tougher, thicker, stiffer, more rugged, often matte strap material
• May be leather, or different materials

Just as with shoes, there’s overlap between dress belts and casual belts. Dress belts are largely for wearing with suits and business attire, but can sometimes be paired with more formal sports jackets/ blazers and trousers. Conversely, casual belts are largely worn with jeans, khakis, and shorts, but can work with nicer chinos and more rugged sports coats.

But when an outfit clearly falls into one category or the other, you should choose the belt that best pairs with your clothes. If a dress belt is worn with casual pants, its proportions and materials will make it look too delicate, quite nerdy, and generally out of place. Conversely, wearing a casual belt with a suit will look jarring and throw off the formal effect you’re trying to evince. 

The Top 3 Go-To Belts for Men

If you’re having trouble deciding which belts to add to your wardrobe, we suggest these 3 as your basic essentials:

Dress belt — for business and evening wear

• 1-1.5-inch strap
• Only about 0.1 inch thick
• Black or brown leather
• Usually shiny
• Undecorated — maybe a little broguing or hand burnishing
• Small, plain, polished buckle — normally frame style
• Match leathers, match metals

Casual belt — for jeans/khakis

• 1.5-inch strap or wider
• Can be thicker than a dress belt
• Tan or natural leather
• Matte, rugged and can be braided, textured, or decorated
• Can have a larger and/or more decorative buckle — plate, box, or frame
• Doesn’t have to match leathers exactly (e.g. brown with tan, tan with white)

Webbed fabric belt — for summer casual

• 1.5-inch strap or wider
• Choose a strap color that goes with your wardrobe
• Strap can be patterned
• Usually has a double D-ring buckle
• Wear with chinos or shorts

How to Choose the Right Size Belt

Your belt size should be 1-2 inches longer than the size of your pants waist. So if you take a 40 in pants, you want a 41-42 inch belt.

Alternatively, you can work out the size of your new belt from your old belt. Measure from where you always buckle it to the opposite end of the strap, and get the closest size to that.

When buying a plate buckle, remember the throw (distance from chape to hook) adds to the length of your belt.

If you love a belt that’s the wrong size (or your size has changed since you bought the belt) DO NOT be tempted to gouge a hole in it with your pocket knife or kitchen scissors. It will be obvious, and the belt will end up breaking. Take it to your local cobbler to get a hole made properly.

Dress belts should only have a short tail end. You just want a few inches of leather to the left of the buckle when it’s fastened, long enough to tuck through the first belt loop or the loop on the belt itself if it has one.

Err on the side of shortness if you need to, rather than wrapping a long tail of leather around your hip a second time.

Casual belts can have a little bit more of a tail, although too long will still look awkward. Military-style canvas belts with brass buckles traditionally get their tails docked right down to the buckle.

How to Find a Quality Belt

Your casual belts can come and go, and you may actually like their being replaced every few years, so you can try some new styles. But with a more formal belt, you want something that you can use and enjoy for a long time. A quality belt can last for years if not decades, so it’s worth investing in a top-notch piece that looks good and wears well.

Very similar-looking belts sometimes vary widely in cost. The quality of the leather is one common factor: calfskin is the most common material used for belts, and a good belt will have a soft, supple leather. Flex the belt to make sure it hasn’t turned brittle or started to crack. Another good test of leather is to score the back very lightly with your fingernail — if a faint line appears, the leather is still soft and fresh. Old, hard leather will resist your nail.

Construction is the other major factor affecting the price of a belt. Look for small, tight stitching with no loose ends wherever the leather has been sewn. Buckles attached with a snap on the back of the belt can be changed out, while a buckle stitched in place is the only one you can wear with the belt; some men may find the flexibility of a snapped belt worth paying more for, especially in good leather. Belts can be custom-cut at some leather goods stores.

Brand names, in my opinion, are NOT worth paying more for when it comes to belts, because nobody’s likely to notice where your belt came from! If you’ve got a little extra to spend, invest in quality construction instead.

_____________________________

Written By Antonio Centeno

Founder, Real Men Real Style

Click here to grab my free ebooks on men’s style

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

Some watch styles have become menswear classics that will never go out of style thanks to their heritage, their craftsmanship, their handsome good looks, and, let’s not fool ourselves, their price tag. Never underestimate the power of luxury to make something a classic.

If you’ve got $3,000 of disposable income, a classic luxury wristwatch is something you might consider adding to your wardrobe.

But what do you do if you like the look of some of those classic luxury watches, but don’t have the money to buy one (or you do have the money, but can’t stomach spending that amount of dough on a timepiece)?

Buying a counterfeit knock-off of a luxury watch is just gauche. Not only is it unethical, it just comes off as desperate and insecure to try to pass off a fake as the real deal. It shows that the wearer doesn’t value the heritage or craftsmanship of the original luxury watch, just the status cache that comes with it. Plus, studies have shown that wearing a knock-off product actually causes you to act in more dishonest ways — no kidding; Scientific American reported that “‘Faking it’ makes us feel like phonies and cheaters on the inside, and this alienated, counterfeit ‘self’ leads to cheating and cynicism in the real world.”

Instead of buying a knock-off of an original luxury watch, consider picking up an “homage” to it. An homage watch is one made by another company that takes design inspiration from a classic wristwatch. They’re not exact replicas of the originals (so you avoid the issue of wearing a counterfeit watch), but they look pretty dang similar and evoke the same classic style cues. And they’re affordable. Instead of a few thousand dollars, an homage watch will only set you back $100. Not dirt cheap, but certainly more affordable. While these homage watches don’t have the same amount of craftsmanship or attention to detail as the originals, they’re accessible alternatives for the man who only wishes for his watch to look good and accurately tell the time.

And if you’re worried about losing cred by opting for an homage watch, note that many watch aficionados that own an expensive classic luxury wristwatch will often also have an homage version of it to use as a “beater watch” — a timepiece you wear on a daily basis or when you’re doing things that might result in it getting knocked around. They’ll only bust out their original classic for important events.

If you’re in the market for a new watch, below we highlight six luxury watches and their more affordable, homage alternatives.

The Expensive Classic: Cartier Tank ~$2,500

Affordable Alternative: Seiko Men’s SUP880 ~$95

Introduced in 1918, the Cartier Tank’s design was inspired by the Renault tanks that Louis Cartier saw on the Western Front during World War I. It’s a mechanical watch, which means it’s powered by a hand-wound mainspring that allows the second hand to move in a smooth, sweeping motion around the watch’s face. Its simple design has made it a classic dress watch worn by men like Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, and John F. Kennedy. With a price tag of $2,500, though, it’s not cheap.

An affordable alternative is a dress watch put out by Seiko. The SUP880 has the same long, rectangle shape of the original Tank and some versions have the same Roman numeral numbering as the Tank as well. Rather than being a mechanical watch like the Cartier, the Seiko is a quartz-powered watch which uses electricity from a battery, and causes the second hand to make a tick-tock sound and move in a jerkier motion. (You can read more about the differences between watch movements and how to choose a watch here.) But quartz watches are more durable than the mechanical variety, and are obviously much more affordable.

The Expensive Classic: Rolex Submariner ~$8,000

Affordable Alternative: Invicta Men’s 8926OB Pro Diver ~$85

The dive watch is probably one of the most common watch types you see men wear. And we likely have James Bond to thank for that. Ever since Dr. No, the cinematic 007 has been sporting a dive watch of some kind or another. In the early Bond films, 007 often wore a Rolex Submariner. When a man says he’d “like to buy a Rolex,” he’s likely talking about this specific kind. The Submariner looks both sporty and classy at the same time, but, it also costs $8,000.

Luckily, there are lots of homage watches of the original Submariner for a fraction of the cost. One such watch is the 8926OB Pro Diver from Invicta. It looks almost identical to the Submariner, but only costs $85. A perfect choice for the sophisticated 00 on a budget.

The Expensive Classic: Omega Speedmaster ~$3,000-$5,000

The Affordable Alternative: Timex Ameritus Stainless Steel Chronograph ~$60

The Omega Speedmaster is pilot’s watch that was used by Gemini and Apollo astronauts in the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, it was the first watch on the moon: both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were sporting a Speedmaster during their famous jaunt on the lunar surface. If you’d like to wear the same watch that Apollo astronauts wore, look to spend between $3,000 and $5,000.

If you don’t have that much money, but like the look of the Speedmaster, check out the Timex Ameritus. I’ve seen several homage Speedmasters, but this one looks the most like the original. Like the Speedmaster, it’s a watch that has a chronograph and tachymeter (check out our article on how to use those features), so you can measure speed and distance. Unlike the Speedmaster, it has a quartz movement and hasn’t been certified for lunar landings. But at $60, who’s complaining?

The Expensive Classic: Breitling Navitimer ~$6,000

The Affordable Alternative: Rotary Chronograph ~$150

Breitling was the first watch company to put a chronograph and tachymeter on a watch, setting the standard for all pilots’ watches thereafter. In 1952, they took the pilot’s watch to the next level with their Navitimer. Besides the chronograph and tachymeter, the Navitimer also has a circular slide rule that can be used to calculate things like airspeed, rate of descent/climb, fuel consumption, and flight time. Not only is the Navitimer a navigation computer you can keep on your wrist, but it looks incredibly dashing. The computational power and good looks come with a hefty price, however.

For you aviators on a budget, there’s the Rotary Chronograph. This quartz movement watch has the same romantic look of the Navitimer, but only costs $150. Like the Navitimer, it has a circular slide rule that you can use to measure the fuel consumption and flight time of your (real or imaginary) plane.

The Expensive Classic: Omega Seamaster ~$2,000-$4,000

The Affordable Alternative: Seiko Men’s SKX007K Diver’s Automatic Watch ~$200

While the early 007s were Rolex Submariner men, Pierce Brosnan turned James Bond into an Omega Seamaster kind of guy. The Seamaster is a dive watch that’s been a favorite of sporty, well-heeled men since 1948. Joe Biden and Prince William are both fans of the Seamaster. But at $2,000-$4,000, it’s likely out of reach for most average Joes.

If you like the look of modern Bond’s favorite watch, but can’t afford to spend a month’s paycheck on it, check out the Seiko SKX007K Diver’s Watch. It has a similar look and feel to the Omega, but only costs $200. And unlike the other affordable alternatives on this list, this Seiko diver watch actually has a mechanical movement to boot.

The Expensive Classic: Tag Heuer Carrera ~$3,000-$4,000

The Affordable Alternative: Casio Edifice EF-547D-1A1VDF ~$105

Tag Heuer has made a name for itself as the go-to watch for race car drivers. The Carrera is one of their most famous racing watches. It features a chronograph and tachymeter so drivers can gauge speed and distance, and a flashy watch face that oozes accelerated sophistication. But with a price tag starting at $3,000, if the only race car you can afford is a 1999 Chevy Cavalier, it’s likely not an option.

The Casio Edifice has the same sporty, driving watch look as the Carrera, but only costs $105. So you can wear it while cruising to the bank to make another savings deposit.

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

Last week we talked about the history of men’s wristwatches and why a man should still consider wearing one today.

If you’ve been looking to become a watch wearer yourself, or already are, but know almost nothing about the timepiece you tote around on your wrist, this article is for you. From weighing the pros and cons of different types of mechanisms, to offering dossiers on the various styles of men’s watches, we’ll cover the basics of everything you’ve always wanted to know about choosing and wearing this classic accessory.

Below you’ll find the ultimate guide to men’s wristwatches — all the essential information in one place, offered in an accessible, easy-to-understand way.

Watch Movements

When you start familiarizing yourself with watches, one word that’s going to come up a lot is “movement.” Movement encompasses not only the sweep of a watch’s hands around its face, but the way its inner mechanisms produce that effect. A watch’s movement is fundamental in how it works and keeps time — consider it the “heart” of the watch.

Watch movements come in three types: mechanical, automatic, and quartz. Below we explain the differences between them and their pros and cons.

Mechanical

A mechanical watch has a movement that’s powered by a mainspring — a coiled wire of metal — that is wound by hand. Once the mainspring is wound, it slowly and evenly unwinds, causing the second hand to move in a smooth, sweeping motion around the watch’s face. Most mainsprings are about 9-13 inches long. The longer the mainspring, the longer your mechanical watch’s power reserve, and the longer you can go between windings.

Not all mechanical movements are created equal. The attention to detail and craftsmanship that goes into a watch will determine its smoothness and accuracy.

For many aficionados, mechanical movement watches represent the crème de la crème of timepieces due to their traditional pedigree and the intricate work and engineering that must go into creating them. For these enthusiasts, owning a mechanical watch isn’t just about telling time, it’s a way to express their appreciation for history, refinement, and craftsmanship.

Pros of Mechanical Watches:

• No battery needed. Because a mechanical watch is powered by a hand-wound mainspring, you’ll never have to go to a jeweler to replace a battery. When the watch stops ticking, just wind it up.
• Smooth hand movement. For some folks, a smooth sweeping movement on the second hand is more aesthetically pleasing than the “tick tick tick” of quartz watches. If that’s important to you, go with a mechanical watch.
• Character. The engineering and work that goes into a mechanical watch is breathtaking. Inside your watchcase are tiny gears and springs that work together to give you the time. Sure, no one usually sees it, but that’s part of the charm; a watchmaker has spent hours and hours perfecting a mechanism that’s hidden from the eye. If you appreciate craftsmanship, then consider adding a mechanical movement watch to your collection.
• Tactile. For some, one of the appeals of a mechanical watch is that the owner must hand-wind it to keep it working. There’s something about the ritual of winding your watch at the end of the day that connects you more with time. There’s also something to be said for having to regularly tend to one of your possessions to keep it “alive” and ticking.
  
  

Cons of Mechanical Watches:

• Requires regular winding. While most mechanical watch mainsprings can go two days without winding, it’s recommended that you wind it once a day. As mentioned above, some folks get pleasure from this, but others find it a nuisance.
• Sensitive to the environment. Because a mechanical watch keeps time thanks to a bevy of intricate springs and gears, its movement can be highly susceptible to the environment. Moisture, dust, shocks, and magnets are the Four Horsemen of the Mechanical Watch Apocalypse. Thankfully, most modern varieties have been designed to withstand these elements, but care should still be taken. If you’re in an environment that puts you in frequent contact with moisture, dirt, magnets, and/or big bumps (like hammering or splitting wood), choose a quartz watch for daily wear and save the mechanical watch for dressier occasions.
• Not as accurate. While a well-crafted mechanical watch can keep time to 99.999% accuracy (which is about +/- 1 second a day), with age and use that accuracy starts to taper off. You’ll need to take your mechanical watch into a jeweler every 5 to 10 years for a tune-up to maintain its accuracy. What’s more, not all mechanical watches are created equal; some are more accurate than others. Finally, as mentioned above, environmental factors can deteriorate a mechanical watch’s accuracy. If strictly accurate timekeeping is your top priority, then you’ll want to opt for a quartz watch.
• Expensive. All that craftsmanship and precision engineering that goes into a mechanical watch is going to cost you extra. While there are some good mechanical watches in the sub-$500 range, most are more than that — often quite a lot more.

Automatic

Automatic watches are pretty much just like mechanical — they’re powered by a mainspring and use intricate gears to move the watch hands — but they don’t require the user to hand-wind the watch to keep it ticking. Instead, your movement throughout the day winds up the mainspring while you wear the watch. Hence, the name “automatic movement.” They’re also known as “self-winding” watches.

How does an automatic movement watch self-wind? Well, there’s a small weight inside the watch called a “rotor” that moves as your wrist moves throughout the day. It’s connected to the mainspring and winds the mainspring as it moves. Automatic watches also have a slipping clutch device to prevent the watch from getting over-wound while you’re wearing it.

If you’re not wearing your automatic watch, you’ll want to put it in a watch winder. It’s a little device that moves the watch in a circular motion while it’s stored so it stays wound. This is particularly important to do if your watch has features like a calendar or date display. For example, let’s say your automatic watch has a calendar on it, but you decide not to wear it for a few days. If you don’t store it in a winder, the power will run down and the display will get stuck on the time and date the watch stopped ticking. When you decide to wear the watch again, you’ll have to reset both.

Pros of Automatic Watches

• No battery needed.
• Don’t have to wind it by hand. If having to hand-wind a mechanical watch bothers you, but you still want the sophistication of a mechanical watch, an automatic watch is a nice compromise.
• Smooth movement. Just like manually-wound mechanical watches, automatic watches have a nice, smooth hand movement.
• Character. The same amount of engineering and craftsmanship goes into an automatic watch as a mechanical watch.

Cons of Automatic Watches

• Sensitive to the environment. The same environmental factors that can foil a mechanical watch can gum up an automatic watch.
• Needs to be stored in a watch winder when not in use. While an automatic watch doesn’t require winding if you wear it regularly, if you don’t, you’ll need to store it in a watch winder. Winders are relatively inexpensive and they don’t take up too much shelf space, but it’s one extra thing you have to buy in order to own an automatic watch.
• Less accurate. A well-crafted automatic watch can be as accurate as a well-crafted mechanical watch, but it will lose some accuracy over time and need tune-ups.
• Expensive. Same issue as mechanical watches. Craftsmanship and engineering ain’t cheap!

Quartz

If you’re like most average Joes, the watch on your wrist right now is probably a quartz watch. There’s a reason for that. Quartz watches are incredibly accurate and very affordable.

Instead of being powered by a wound mainspring, a quartz movement uses electricity from a small battery. The battery sends the electricity through a small quartz crystal, causing the crystal to vibrate 32,768 times per second. The vibrations are measured by a circuit, which converts the vibration into a pulse, which moves the second hand on the watch. Because quartz watches use electric pulses to move the second hand, they have a distinctive “tick tick tick” movement. It’s not as smooth as a mechanical or automatic watch.

Because quartz movements rely on electricity and fewer moving parts, they’re much more accurate and can withstand far more of a beating than mechanical or automatic watches. It’s for this reason that most “sport” and “field” watches use a quartz movement.

Quartz movements are also dirt-cheap. $4 can get you a watch that keeps time like a champ. Of course, if you want something with a bit more panache, you’ll need to spend more.

Pros of Quartz Watches:

• Accurate time. Quartz is by far the most accurate of all the movements. Will never lose or add seconds throughout the day.
• Less maintenance. Besides changing the battery every year or so, there’s little maintenance you have to perform on a quartz movement watch.
• Durable. Because they have few moving parts, a quartz watch can “take a licking and keep on ticking.” It’s not as susceptible to the Four Horsemen of the Watch Apocalypse. If you’re in a job that requires a lot of rough and dirty work, you might want to consider a quartz movement watch for everyday wear.
• Affordable. You can get quartz watches for as cheap as a few bucks. Though nicer looking ones can cost into the hundreds of dollars, they’re almost always cheaper than mechanical and automatic varieties.

Cons of Quartz Watches:

• No smooth movement. The staggered movement of the second hand on a quartz watch isn’t as smooth as that of a mechanical or automatic watch.
• Less romantic. The biggest con of quartz watches is that they lack the charm, character, and romance of mechanical watches because they lack the history, technical craftsmanship, and engineering such timepieces possess.

Watch Complications

Your basic wristwatch tells you the time.

But many wristwatches come with features that also display the date or even the phase of the moon. These little extras on wristwatches are called “complications.”

Besides calendars or moon phases, other complications include alarms, power reserve indicators, and repeaters (a feature that chimes the hour and minutes on your watch at the press of a button).

Then there’s the chronograph.

The chronograph is a separate and independent time system which serves as a stopwatch. Most chronographs consist of three small dials (also called sub-registers) within the main dial of the watch. On the side of the watch’s case, you’ll usually find two buttons: the top button starts/stops the chronograph, while the bottom button resets it.

On some watches, a chronograph is paired with a tachymeter — a scale inscribed around the rim of a watch. Using the chronograph and tachymeter together allows a user to calculate all sorts of things like speed, distance traveled, or fuel consumption (when you’re driving or flying).

(Chronographs and tachymeters are pretty dang cool and I plan on devoting an entire article on how to use them down the line. Stay tuned.)

How many and which complications you want in a watch is a matter of preference. Dressier watches tend to be sleek and have one (usually the date) to none. More sporty and casual watches often include more complications.

Men’s Watch Style Dossiers

While there are a plethora of functional men’s wristwatches out there from rubber sport watches you’d wear while running a 5K to tactical digital watches with a bunch of wiz-bang features, we’re going to focus on wristwatches you’d wear to class up an outfit. Sure, functional watches serve a purpose in a man’s life, but they just don’t look that great with a suit or at the office.

When it comes to stylish men’s wristwatches, there are basically five types: dress, field, diver, aviator, and racing. We’ve compiled dossiers on each one.

Dress Watch

History/Pedigree/Personality: Birthed in the early 20th century for well-to-do gentlemen who wanted to start wearing their timepiece on their wrist, rather than in their pocket. The dress watch is all about simplicity and sophistication; it’s sleek rather than encumbered. It’s not flashy, and draws attention to itself in a subtle way — for its classiness and how it compliments your get-up.

Signature Features:

• Size: Typically thin (to make it easy to slip in and out of a dress shirt cuff).
• Case: May be circular, rectangular, or square. High-end varieties are typically made from precious metals like gold or silver.
• Face: Dial displays simple hour indexes (the numbers, or symbols for numbers on the watch face) such as saber-style indexes (those little lines), Roman numerals, or small Arabic numerals.
• Band: Always leather. Though some companies offer both leather and metal band options with their dress watches, leather is the classic way to go.
• Complications: Little to none. At the most, a date and/or moon display.

When to Wear: As the name implies, you wear a dress watch for dressier, more formal occasions like with a business suit or a tuxedo (though, there’s debate as to whether you should ever wear a watch at all with black tie). But you can also wear a dress watch with everything on down to sharp casual. It won’t pair well with a t-shirt and jeans.

Examples:

• Cartier Tank
• Orient Bambino
• Seiko Kinetic
• Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945
• Montblanc Star Date Automatic

Field Watch

History/Pedigree/Personality: The field watch is the descendant of the WWI “trench watch,” which was designed for officers who needed to coordinate attacks, tell time at night, and sport a wristwatch that could withstand the rigors of battle, all while still looking good. Field watches continue to evince a military-esque vibe and are rugged, functional, and stylish all at the same time.

Signature Features:

• Size: Small to medium. Large watches would just get in the way while you’re doing battle in the trenches of war, or business.
• Face: Functional, easy-to-read numerical indexes — typically a white dial and black numbering, or a black dial with white numbering. The hands on field watches often illuminate to enable time checks at night.
• Case: Typically stainless steel or sometimes titanium (they’re supposed to be rugged, after all!). Field watches sometimes include a feature called “hacking seconds” where you can stop the second hand by pulling the crown out; this makes it easier to set the watch to a reference signal, or synchronize it with another.
• Band: Leather or canvas strap. Metal is too heavy and would easily scratch with the kind of regular, rough and tumble use a field watch is designed for.
• Complications: Typically none, or date only.

When to Wear: Field watches are quite versatile and can be worn on all kinds of adventures as well as for everyday casual wear or even business casual. So everything from jeans and a t-shirt, to a sports coat and khakis. For men, especially younger guys, who don’t get dressed up in a suit very often, a field watch is probably your best bet; its simple, rugged style may best match your personality and lifestyle.

Examples:

• Filson Mackinaw Field
• Victronix Infantry
• Shinola Runwell
• L.L.Bean Classic Field Watch

Dive Watch

History/Pedigree/Personality: Next to the field watch, the dive watch is probably one of the most common watch types you see men sporting. And we likely have James Bond to thank for that. Ever since Dr. No, 007 has been sporting a dive watch of some kind or another. In the early Bond films, it was a Rolex Submariner (which is why the dive watch is sometimes called a “submariner”); then Pierce Brosnan turned the Omega dive watch into Bond’s timepiece of choice.

As the name suggests, the dive watch was designed for individuals who spend a lot of time in or near water. Their primary selling point is that they’re water resistant. The first iteration of what became the dive watch was likely the Rolex Oyster, which was introduced in the 1930s. With its hermetically sealed case, it was one of the first water resistant watches on the market.

In the 1950s, Rolex board member René-Paul Jeanneret wanted a watch that would be useful for when he went diving (a hobby he actively pursued) but still looked good as an everyday time piece. The Rolex Submariner was born and the standard for dive watches everywhere was set. Most dive watches on the market today take their design cues from the Submariner.

Signature Features: A dive watch is first and foremost water resistant. The standard for a dive watch is to be water resistant up to at least 100m, though some keep ticking at even lower depths.

Since it’s designed to be worn in the water, both the case and the band of dive watches are made from corrosion-resistant metals like stainless steel or titanium. (You’ll of course see dive watches made from rubber and silicone, too. They’re just not as classy looking.)

• Size: Medium.
• Face: Typically bold, easy-to-read, Arabic numbering, though the 12-hour numerals are often replaced with hash marks, with the seconds displayed in 15-second increments. To protect the watch face while deep underwater, sapphire or hardened mineral glass is used.
• Case: A defining feature of the dive watch is the uni-directional bezel included on the case — it will only rotate counter-clockwise. The rotating bezel allows a diver to know with just a glance at his watch how long he’s been underwater. Here’s how it works: when the diver enters the water, he rotates the bezel so that the “0” lines up with the minute hand. After that, the minute hand will point to the marking on the bezel that shows how long he’s been in the water.
• Band: Metal, and usually longer than other watches’ bands, as it was originally designed to fit around bulky dive equipment.
• Complications: Typically date only.

When to Wear: While the dive watch was designed for underwater use, its all-metal casing and band, plus its iconic heritage, make it a suitable wristwatch for versatile everyday wear. You can don it with your sports wear, casual wear, business causal wear, and business formal wear. And if you take your style cues from James Bond, you can even get away with wearing a dive watch with a tux.

Examples:

• Seiko Diver’s Watch
• Citizen Promaster
• Steinhart Ocean One

Pilot Watch

History/Pedigree/Personality: Wristwatches have been a part of aviation since its inception. In fact, one of the first purpose-specific men’s wristwatches ever made was for a pilot friend of Louis Cartier back in 1904 (the iconic Santos watch).

In the decades after, watchmakers built on that original design to make timekeeping easy for pilots taking off into the wild blue yonder, most notably with the addition of a chronograph. Back in the 1930s, the Swiss company Breitling made onboard chronographs for planes in the Royal Air Force so pilots could determine their speed, distance traveled, and fuel consumption. In the 1940s, they decided to put their chronograph on a wristwatch — creating the Breitling Chronomat, as well as the mold for future aviator watches.

Signature Features: Unlike other men’s watch styles, the pilot watch doesn’t have a firm, distinctive style; the features of timepieces marketed as “aviator watches” can widely vary. That being said, the following are the features that are most common to this type of watch:

• Size: Medium to large.
• Face: Designed for easy reading, even in a dark cockpit, pilot watches sport an oversized dial with clean, legible numbers and luminous hands. To make reading the time even easier, the dial is usually black with white numbering.
• Band: Often, though not always, made of leather. Longer than average, as the band was originally designed to fit around the cuff of a pilot’s flight jacket.
• Complications: Date and sometimes a chronograph.

When to Wear: The size and more casual look of pilot watches make them a good fit for more casual get-ups, but not for black tie and formal business wear.

Examples:

• Breitling Naiverer
• Citizen Hawk Navihawk
• Wingman Watches
• Laco Type A
• Bell & Ross WWI-92 Military

Racing (or Driving) Watch

History/Pedigree/Personality: Car racing and wristwatches have been linked together since the 1930s. That’s because racecar driving relies on accurate timekeeping to measure the outcome of the race. Rolex was one of the first companies to capitalize on this need for accurate timepieces by outfitting top drivers with their famous Oyster watch back in the 1930s.

But it was TAG Heuer that created the standard for racing watches by adding a chronograph and tachymeter — the two defining features of a driving watch. The first TAG Heuer chronographs were made in the 1930s and 1940s for pilots in the Luftwaffe, but by the 1950s and 1960s, racecar drivers were wearing them to measure their speed and distance. TAG Heuer cemented its racing bona fides when actor Steve McQueen wore their Monaco 1133 in the 1971 film, Le Mans.

Signature Features:

• Size: Medium to large.
• Face: Large dial (to make room for the chronograph), with clear Arabic numerals. Often includes bright, contrasting colors.
• Case: Designed to withstand the rigors of auto racing, the case is typically made from stainless steel.
• Band: Leather or metal.
• Complications: Chronograph and sometimes the date.

When to Wear: Racing watches tend to be flashier looking than dive or pilot watches. Because of their bold look, they’re more suitable for casual than formal wear.

Examples:

• TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 18
• TAG Heuer Monaco 1133
• Timex Intelligent Quartz Fly-Back Chronograph
• Seiko Sportura

Picking the Perfect Watch For Your Hand Size

One of the factors to consider in choosing a watch is how well proportioned the watch is to your wrist and hand. If it’s too big for your wrist, it will stand out and look garish; too small and it will look like you’re wearing a lady’s timepiece.

The general rule is if the circumference of your wrist is 6 to 7 inches, you want to go with a watch that has a case diameter of 38-42 mm wide. If your wrist is larger than 7 inches, then you can go with cases that are 44-46 mm wide.

The best way to figure out if a watch is proportional to your wrist and hand is to try it on and eyeball it. Ask friends and family for their opinion.

Of course, watches are statement pieces. So if you want to go with the giant, rap-mogul watch, go right ahead. Just understand that by doing so, you’re communicating to the world that conspicuous consumption is important to you.

Are Expensive Watches Worth Buying?

Once you decide what type and style of watch you want, you’ll next need to decide what kind of price range to look in.

When you see the $8,000 price tag on a Rolex Submariner or that a TAG Heuer Carrera goes for $4,500, you might ask yourself “Are these watches really worth that much if they tell time just as well as my $10 Casio?”

Well, that’s a complicated question to answer and it somewhat depends on what sort of luxury watch we’re talking about: mass market luxury watches or luxury luxury watches.

One criticism levied at mass-market luxury watches is that the high price is simply the result of clever marketing. Rolex and TAG Heuer can charge thousands of dollars for a watch not due to scarcity (these companies mass-produce their iconic watches by the hundreds of thousands each year), but because they’ve created the perception in the public through decades of advertising that their watches are rare and worth thousands of dollars. It’s the same criticism levied at diamond makers. Diamonds, in reality, are plentiful. Diamond producers have made them a sought-after luxury item through decades of marketing them as such.

While it’s true that the high prices of mass-produced luxury watches are partly due to branding, there are factors in the watch itself that make it worth more than your $200 watch from the department store. For starters, these luxury watches are often made with fine metals like gold and silver. Given the price of gold these days, a gold Rolex is going to be expensive any way you slice it. They also use a higher quality glass or even sapphire to cover the watch face.

What’s more, the technology and thought that went into designing a mass-produced luxury watch is typically far superior to the technology and thought that went into making a $200 department store watch. In short, they’re made better, work better, and last longer.

So with mass-market luxury watches, you’re definitely getting a superior watch in terms of its build and movement compared to other watches, but you’re also paying for the mystique, story, and social cache that come with a brand name. It’s up to you to decide if that’s important when buying a watch.

That leads us to luxury luxury watches. These are watches that can cost tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars. Companies like Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, and IWC exist in this realm. These watches can command these sorts of prices because they’re actually scarce. Oftentimes, just a few hundred or maybe a thousand of a particular watch are made. And this isn’t some artificial scarcity. They’re often meticulously handcrafted (with the help of machines of course) from the finest materials. Some of the watches from these companies take months or even years to be finished. So, yeah, with these types of luxury watches, you’re definitely getting what you pay for: high-end craftsmanship.

Luxury watches are thus a lot like luxury cars. There is a difference in the quality, features, and engineering of a high-end vehicle, but you’re also paying for the brand, for the status symbol. Some folks are attracted to luxury cars, and to luxury watches, for both reasons, and they feel that the enjoyment they get out of the possession warrants the steep price tag.

For other folks, buying a luxury car, or watch, will never cross their mind. It’s not in their price range, and even if it was, they’ve got other things they can spend that money on, and luxury watches offend their sense of republican virtue — their commitment to frugality and modesty (I’m admittedly in this camp).

That being said, “frugality” is of course an entirely relative trait, which depends on one’s personal income (Jefferson and Washington didn’t live in mud huts and walk around in burlap sacks, after all). If a billionaire wants to buy a $10,000 watch, that doesn’t make him a spendthrift; it’s just a drop in the bucket for him.

For the rest of us average Joes, invest in the best quality watch that fits your needs, desires, and budget. There are plenty of nice-looking watches that don’t cost an arm and a leg. My own go-to watch is the Spirit of St. Louis (a pilot watch), which comes in at a reasonable $225, and I still get lots of compliments on it. If you want something a little outside your current budget, ask for a nice watch as a gift; timepieces make great birthday, Christmas, and graduation presents.

Well, there you go. A guide to the world of horology. While we got pretty comprehensive in this article, we only scratched the surface on wristwatches. If this topic interests you, I highly recommend checking out sites dedicated to all things wristwatches. A few of my favorites include Worn and Wound, Hodinkee, and A Blog to Watch. Gear Patrol also does some bang-up write-ups on watches.

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!

Editor’s note: Read Part II when you’re done, How to Choose a Watch. 

No element of men’s style combines fashion and function quite like the wristwatch. Nor does any other male accessory inspire such devotion and interest.

Nevertheless, in recent times there have been those who believed the watch had finally met its demise in the smartphone, and would fade away with other sartorial anachronisms like monocles and sock garters.

And yet the popularity of the wristwatch persists. To understand why, we need to understand the history of this timepiece, how its past continues to inform its present, and why a man might consider wearing a watch in the 21st century.

History of Wristwatches 

While the wristwatch has become a men’s style staple around the world, up until the late 19th century it was considered a piece of jewelry exclusively for women. Men preferred the pocket watch. This wasn’t some arbitrary fashion decision based on taste or gender; there was actually a practical reason for men’s preference for one over the other.

Before the 20th century, watches were extremely susceptible to the elements. Moisture, cold, heat, and dust could easily bungle the intricate gears and springs within a watch, causing it to lose its accuracy. As men were more likely to face these elements, and held positions in the military, business, and government that made accurate timekeeping more of a paramount concern for them than for women, care had to be taken to protect their timepieces and keep themselves on schedule. Function superseded fashion, so into the pocket men’s watches went, only to be taken out when needed.

As with most things in men’s style, it would take a war for patterns to change and for the watch to leave a man’s pocket and be placed on his wrist.

Pocket watches required a free hand to use — you had to reach into your pocket and hold it while you checked the time. In the tumult of battle, a man needed all the hands he could get. So soldiers began improvising wristwatches by strapping their pocket watches on their arm with leather.

Soldiers wearing a wristlet — a pocket watch secured to a leather strap.

The first instances of the use of these improvised wristwatches are said to have occurred among British soldiers fighting in the Burma and Boer Wars in the late 19th century. Called “wristlets,” these leather straps had a cup to hold their pocket watch. By the 1890s, a few companies started manufacturing leather wristlets for soldiers and even made improvements to them, like adding a compass on the strap for navigation. They were often marketed as “Campaign” or “Service” watches.

Just as GIs returning from WWII continued to wear their government issued tees and khakis as civilians, veterans of the Burma and Boer Wars likely continued using their leather wristlets when they returned home. Male civilians, seeing these rough and tumble war vets sporting what was once considered a lady’s accouterment, began following suit.

Jack London, author and war correspondent, sporting a pocket watch wristlet on his California ranch.

Seeing that men — particularly soldiers — were wearing their pocket watches on their wrists, several companies in the late 19th century began creating watches specifically designed for that purpose. Girard-Perregaux was the first company to mass-produce wristwatches specifically for men — particularly for sailors in the German Imperial Navy. The Waterbury Clock Company — now known as Timex — also began selling a men’s wristwatch at around the same time. In 1907, jeweler Louis Cartier designed a wristwatch for his Brazilian aviator friend, Alberto Santos-Dumont, which he called the Santos.

While these manufactures were pioneering a new segment of timepieces, sales weren’t that great. The majority of men still preferred the pocket watch, or the leather pocket watch wristlet.



It would take another war for the watches to find a permanent place on men’s wrists.

World War I ushered in modern, mechanistic warfare, and the wristwatch played a vital role in this process. Before WWI, the coordination and execution of orders relied primarily on visual cues — soldiers would often use semaphore signals to communicate with one another. But because battlefronts were so large during WWI and because soldiers fought in trenches, this visual mode of coordination became increasingly unviable. So clocks began to be used to coordinate attacks: officers would sync watches together at a meeting, return to their respective troops, and initiate the offensive at the agreed upon time.

Soldiers syncing their watches during WWII.

To do this, many British officers continued to use the improvised wristwatch — their pocket watch tethered to a leather strap. But some began wearing a bona fide wristwatch designed to withstand the rigors of warfare, while maintaining a classy, aristocratic look. Watch companies in England immediately began capitalizing on this new need by making and marketing wristwatches specifically for officers serving in the trenches. They called it, unsurprisingly, the “trench watch.” (The trenches of WWI is also where the “trench coat” was developed.)

The trench watch wasn’t a government-issued piece of equipment (the pocket watch was still the officially sanctioned timepiece), so if an officer wanted one, he was expected to supply his own. Because there wasn’t a single watch company providing watches to the military, this opened up a vibrant and robust market with several competing companies making trench watches for officers. Consequently, you can still find a wide variety of trench watches from this era on eBay and various other auction sites as well as antique stores.

This wartime competition spurred innovation in the men’s wristwatch. Watch hands and numerals donned luminous paint to make time reading easier in darkened conditions (like at night or in the trenches), and unbreakable crystal glass replaced the glass covering the watch’s face. Lugs for attaching the leather strap to the watch started to be built right into the watch, which gave it a more finished look. Porcelain dials to set the time, which were common on pocket watches, were replaced with metal. Finally, the watch casings were made much tighter to keep water and dust out of the watch’s sensitive mechanisms.

Like the veterans of the Burma and Boer wars who returned home to civilian life burnishing their leather wristlets, British vets of WWI came back home wearing their trench watches, thus setting a standard for civilian men to follow. By 1930, more wristwatches than pocket watches were being sold in the U.K.

The adoption of male wristwatches took hold a little more slowly in the U.S., though. Many American doughboys wore the wristwatch while in the trenches, but went back to the pocket watch after returning home because of the wristwatch’s lingering reputation as a “lady’s timepiece.” The only way an American man could get away with wearing a wristwatch as a civilian was if he was taking part in rugged activity that required chronological precision like flying or racing. It wasn’t until the mid-1920s that wristwatch sales among men began to gain ground, and much later than that that they finally overtook pocket watches.

After WWI solidified the masculine bona fides of the wristwatch, manufacturers began creating timepieces to be worn on all sorts of occasions. Yes, there were fancy dress watches, but most wristwatch innovation was driven by specific needs of men serving in the military and taking part in risky and dangerous activities like car racing and aerial barnstorming.

Why Wear a Watch?

Few men these days need to time the start of a battlefield attack, and technology has come a long way since the Battle of the Somme.

We’ve now entered an age where a man can check the time by pressing a button on his smartphone, which begs an obvious question: “Are there still any reasons to wear a watch?”

It’s a fair question, and wristwatch sales did in fact start declining in the early 00s, thanks in part to the increased use of smartphones. But after reaching an all-time low in 2009, wristwatch sales have been increasing at a steady clip year in and year out and will likely continue that upward trend.

What’s going on there? Every man has his own reasons for sporting a wristwatch, but here are a few as to why you might consider joining their ranks:

Wristwatches are functional and convenient. When I got my first smartphone, I was one of those people who dumped their wristwatch. Why carry an extra piece of equipment, I figured, when there’s a clock built right into my phone?

But after a year, I found myself getting annoyed at having to pull my smartphone out of my pocket whenever I wanted to know the time. I had unwittingly traveled back over a hundred years, burdening myself with the same inconvenience soldiers had discovered during the Burma War; in everything else my smartphone was light years ahead of anything from the early 1900s, but as a timepiece, it was essentially an old fashioned pocket watch.

With a wristwatch, on the other hand, telling the time just requires a glance at your arm, and both of your hands remain completely free and ready for action.

What’s more, with a traditional wristwatch you don’t have to worry about the power going out on your timepiece or recharging it regularly. A quartz watch can go months without a new battery, automatic watches almost never lose power, and a mechanical watch only needs to be wound to keep it ticking — no power plug needed. The power factor is a big reason I dumped the smartwatch (they also don’t look very good) after a few months of use. I had to charge the thing all the time. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Bottom line: nothing beats a classic wristwatch when it comes to convenient, hands-free, at-the-ready timekeeping. 

Wristwatches look good. Wristwatches, while functional, are also designed with looks in mind. They’re one of the few pieces of male jewelry that can easily be worn every day.

When matched correctly, a stylish, well-designed watch can add a bit of polish, panache, and visual interest to any outfit. It’s a subtle detail, but people notice it. When I’ve got a solid get-up on and I’m rocking a watch that goes with it, I usually get more compliments on the watch than my clothes.

And the beauty of watches is that because they come in so many varieties, you can develop a collection that you can draw from to put the finishing touch on any ensemble, no matter the occasion. Business formal? Rock your simple, but elegant dress watch. Casual first date? A dive or field watch will look handsome.

Wristwatches signal status/personality. As we discussed in our series on status, one of the key developments in human development was the adaptation of social signaling. Instead of relying solely on embodied characteristics, like height and physique, to determine status, our human ancestors started using things like clothing and jewelry to size each other up.

When pocket watches came on the scene a few hundred years ago, they quickly catapulted into one of the West’s most powerful social signals. Early watches were expensive, so only the very rich could afford them. Owning one signaled to folks that you had indeed arrived. When pocket watches transformed to wristwatches during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was typically high-born British officers wearing them. Even as mass production drove the price of wristwatches down, quality pieces continued to maintain their status signal cache.

Now, the easiest way to signal status with a wristwatch is, of course, to procure the high-end luxury variety. Nothing announces “I’ve made it big” like sporting a $30,000 vintage Rolex.

Yet even if such displays of conspicuous consumption understandably rub you the wrong way, and you opt for something in the far less expensive range, a wristwatch still represents a potent clue to your personality and interests. Fancy yourself a sporty guy? A racing or diving watch can showcase that. Pride yourself on plain practicality? A rugged field watch can convey that.

Yes, watches are about timekeeping, but thanks to their powerful social cache, they can be used to express your values, tastes, and likes to others. Choose wisely.

Wristwatches are timeless. While the wristwatch as we know it has only been around for a century, it’s gained a timeless distinction in the world of style. A well-designed classic wristwatch is like a well-designed suit — it will still look good decades from now. There’s a reason 60-year-old Rolexes are still selling for tens of thousands of dollars. Even if a watch costs you a lot, it’s an investment that will continue paying dividends in enjoyed use for years to come.

The timelessness of the wristwatch also makes it a fantastic heirloom. If you’re lucky enough to inherit a watch from your father or grandfather, every time you wear it, you’ll have a tangible reminder of the men who made your life possible. If you don’t have a family heirloom watch, begin the tradition in your own life by acquiring a nice timepiece that you can someday pass on to your son or grandson.

Wristwatches feel good. Wristwatches not only look good, but they feel good too. Because of their historic associations with war and adventurous pursuits like racing, flying, and diving, no male accessory is quite as romantic and evocative as the watch. Not only do these associations signal things to others, but they signal things to yourself as well, about who you’d like to be and what you’d like to be doing. If the watch is an heirloom, it may remind you to carry yourself in a way that would make your forebearers proud.

It may sound silly to think a physical object like a wristwatch could alter your mindset a little, but it’s no different than the totems and talismans our primitive ancestors outfitted themselves with for luck, protection, and courage.

Man has always tried to master the elements, one of the primary ones being time. A watch gives you the sense of being in control of your precious hours and minutes; strap one on and you feel ready for your appointment with destiny. Or at least a meeting or date, which, hey, could very well change the course of your life.

Convinced to become a wristwatch wearer? Next week we’ll present the Ultimate Guide to Wristwatches and lay out everything you need to know about this classic timepiece.

Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support!